"Move." Xati frowned. "You're blocking this prince's way."
Sean didn't take the remark seriously. Instead, his eyes sparkled with excitement.
"You watch Prince Pirate too?" he asked eagerly. "I like that anime too! Which episode did you watch last? Have you seen the newest one?"
Xati "..."
Before he could answer, Elder Madam Keir enthusiastically spoke up from the side.
"The two of you should become good friends." She smiled warmly. "After all, Sean is the future heir of the Neri family."
With Elder Madam Keir taking the lead, more members of the Keir family, including several clan elders, gathered around after noticing Xati.
One after another, they questioned, complimented him, and affectionately patted his head.
Suddenly, a sharp voice shattered the calm atmosphere.
"How dare you show your face here?"
Ellis' wife strode straight toward Shin, her eyes burning with resentment.
"Wasn't it enough that you ruined my son's reputation? Are you still not satisfied? You couldn't even be bothered to come earlier. What exactly do you mean by showing up now?"
The surrounding area fell into complete silence.
Although she wasn't screaming or making a hysterical scene, her voice carried clearly enough for everyone nearby to hear.
Several guests who were familiar with Ellis' wife immediately stepped forward.
"Madam, please calm down."
"This isn't the place for discussion. There are so many people here."
"You should talk this privately after the funeral."
But she wasn't having any of it.
This wasn't only about Hadi. For years, she had been a socialite admired by countless members of high society. When she married Ellis Keir, she had expected her position to rise even further.
Instead, her husband and her sons had disappointed her.
Ellis had spent years losing to his brother, Allister, while her own position within the Keir family had somehow fallen below even Eleanor, Allister's unhinged wife.
And now Shin had publicly exposed Hadi's crimes without giving the slightest consideration to the parents who had to endure the consequences.
The public's perception of her had become even worse.
So why should she hold back now?
She was tired of relying on her useless husband. Even Hiro, her own son, had failed to secure a male heir through his marriage.
Now that another bastard child had suddenly appeared, who knew what that old hag might decide when it came to her inheritance?
"Am I wrong?" she demanded. "What was the point of publicly persecuting someone who is already dead? Even if Hadi once attempted to harm you, it was because he was manipulated by Bryce Gate. Aren't you still alive? Aren't you still the head of the clan?"
Then her attention shifted toward Yeri.
"You said my son tried to harass you, but he was clearly drunk at the time. And there were other people there as well, so why were you only focusing on him? Besides, what were you doing in a place like that at that hour? As the fiancée of someone like Shin Keir, you certainly have quite a lively hobby."
Yeri "..."
It wasn't as though she had gone around accusing Hadi herself. The videos recorded that night were the evidence.
"Madam, please don't say things that could cause others to misunderstand," Yeri said calmly. "I was there with my classmates to celebrate a birthday."
Ellis' wife snorted. Instead of calming her down, Yeri's response only made her more furious.
"No wonder the public doesn't like you. Just look at your attitude. You're talking back to an elder. Didn't anyone teach you to show respect?"
"The fact that she answered you instead of ignoring you is already a form of respect."
Jj's voice suddenly came from the side. He stepped forward, his expression displeased.
"What about the way you're implying things about her? Do you expect her to lower her head and silently accept being defamed?"
Ellis' wife didn't recognize him, her brows furrowed. "And who are you to interfere?"
Before Jj could answer, Shin spoke.
"Death doesn't make a person a saint."
Shin's cold gaze swept across the gathered guests before finally settling on Hadi's mother. "His wife suffered because of his womanizing while he was alive. Yet even after his death, you're still more concerned with covering his sins than hoping he felt remorse and is reincarnated as a better person."
Mrs. Keir froze, her face shifted through several shades of embarrassment and humiliation.
"You still asked why I only showed up now?" Shin continued without giving her time to respond. "Some adults only know how to demand respect. But they never learned how to teach it."
"I've asked my mother-in-law countless times to help me talk some sense into Hadi back then, but instead she blamed me for having no ability to keep a man faithful."
Serenity suddenly spoke as well, veil covering her entire face.
"I'm already divorced from Hadi. The divorce was finalized before he was expelled from the clan, and I have my cousin-in-law to thank for helping a weak woman like me."
A ripple of shock went through the room.
Divorced? That hadn't been made public.
Wasn't there never supposed to be a divorce within the Keir family?
This could only mean that Hadi had become so unbearable that even his wife had finally wanted nothing to do with him.
Mrs. Keir's eyes widened, her breath catching in disbelief. She hadn't expected Serenity to join the confrontation.
"Serenity, you snake!" she spat. "Just because my son is dead, you think you're free to throw accusations around?"
She turned toward the surrounding guests.
"Don't believe this liar! Weak? My son often confided in me about how you bullied him and even beat him!"
Then she raised her chin indignantly.
"Fine! Since this matter has already been brought into the open, I won't shield someone who doesn't deserve it anymore. A vicious and poisonous woman like you climbed your way up using my son, you're the reason he was driven to seek other women, and now, you won't even let him rest in peace?"
The people surrounding them exchanged uncomfortable glances. Others, meanwhile, were secretly enjoying the spectacle.
No one was particularly eager to take sides.
Although Ellis' wife technically held more authority within the Keir family than Serenity, the rift between Shin and Ellis' family was already common knowledge.
If they openly supported Ellis' wife, wouldn't they risk offending Shin Keir?
Also, Serenity had supposedly beaten Hadi?
The public might not know much about Hadi's character, but within elite circles, his reputation was hardly a secret.
Besides, if Serenity truly had been the one mistreating Hadi, why would the Keir clan, particularly the elders, have allowed her to remain while Hadi was the one expelled?
"Are you out of your mind?" Ellis finally rushed over and grabbed his wife by the arm, having only just realized the commotion she had caused. "Do you still want your face?"
His wife cried out, her expression filled with the indignation of someone convinced the entire world had wronged her.
Her original intention had been to shift the blame onto Shin, painting him as a ruthless and inconsiderate man who had no attachment to his own family.
She had expected the crowd to sympathize with a grieving mother.
What she hadn't expected was for Shin to refuse to give her even the slightest consideration as Hadi's mother, and then Serenity also joined in.
Now the entire situation had spiraled completely out of control.
"Didn't I tell you I'd handle this?" Ellis continued, his anger barely restrained. "I told you to leave Shin alone. What are you doing?"
He had warned her countless times to avoid provoking him and leave Yeri alone.
Shin wasn't someone who could be morally blackmailed through family ties.
Yet she'd done the exact opposite.
Humiliated in front of half the elite society, and now being scolded by her own husband instead of receiving his support, Ellis' wife finally snapped.
"Handle it?" she cried. "How exactly do you plan to handle it? Are you going to tell me to wait again? To endure again? That's all you've ever told me to do!"
Ellis' face turned livid, finding himself in such a humiliating situation in front of the entire elite circle.
"This is all your fault! I lost my son, and instead of comforting me, you're blaming me for reacting like this?" His wife pointed a trembling finger at him.
Several relatives finally stepped forward, attempting to intervene. The elders in particular looked deeply embarrassed and indignant.
Meanwhile, as everyone's attention remained focused on the couple, Shin suddenly seemed to think of something.
The corner of his lips curved into a faint smirk.
"This is all your fault! I lost my son, and instead of comforting me, you're blaming me for reacting like this!"
"You-"
Ellis was so furious that he became momentarily speechless.
He grabbed his wife's pointing finger and forced it down, only for her to repeat herself.
"This is all your fault! I lost my son, and instead of comforting me, you're blaming me for reacting like this?"
The exact same words, same expression and same pointing gesture.
For a moment, everyone simply stared.
Some initially felt sorry for her, thinking she had lost her son, after all. Perhaps grief had finally pushed her beyond her limits.
But then she repeated the same words again and again.
People began exchanging increasingly confused looks. Something was definitely wrong.
Is she having some kind of breakdown?
Allister's wife is already staying at the sanatorium. Could it be Ellis' wife is another contender?
Such a bizarre situation.
Should they feel sorry for the Keirs for having daughters-in-law who keep going crazy, or feel sorry for the women who marry into the Keirs?
"This is all your fault! I lost my son, and instead of comforting me, you're blaming me for reacting like this!"
Ellis, of course, had also realized that something was wrong, but after being repeatedly told that it was his fault, with her finger constantly pointing accusingly at him, he looked like he was about to have a stroke.
What exactly was he supposed to do? Stand in front of everyone and announce that his wife had suddenly gone insane?
Yeri was just as baffled as everyone else, turning toward Shin. "...Was it you?"
A faint, almost mischievous smile appeared on Shin's face.
"Do you like it?"
Yeri "..."
Shin had simply restored a specific moment in time around Ellis' wife.
Every time the moment ended, she returned to the exact same point and repeated the same actions, completely unaware that she'd already done so.